Hints of a Brighter Future
by Gemini14
Summary: In a story set just a little before 'Rain', Lina and her group meet up with a lonely chimera living out his life in solitude, while they are searching for some help for Zelgadis. What impact will this encounter have on this chimera?


Hints of a Brighter Future

"Dragon Slave!" a girl's voice shouted, before blowing a group of bandits to oblivion.

"Nice work, Lina-san!" another girl cheered, as the redhead dusted her hands off.

"Nothin' to it!" Lina said, nonchalantly, then looked around for the men.

"Where's Gourry and Zel?" Lina asked.

"Lina! Down here!" Gourry's voice called, from below.

"What the………….! Didn't I tell you to get out of the way!" Lina asked, as she and Amelia looked down into the crevasse where Gourry's voice was coming from.

"No! You didn't!" Zelgadis' voice replied, sounding irritated and……..pained?

"Zelgadis-san, are you all right?" Amelia asked, concerned about the chimera.

"I think so. My right leg hurts a little, but it should be all right, once I'm out of here." Zelgadis replied.

"I hope so!" Amelia replied, as the two men started climbing out. Once they were above ground, it was very clear that Zelgadis' leg was far from 'all right'. From what Lina could tell, it was badly broken.

"Damn, Zel, and you just had to be a chimera and get this kind of injury! It'll take another chimera to put the bone back into place." Lina said, as she felt the area around the broken bone and drew back when Zelgadis hissed in pain.

"Hmm…………..quite a predicament you've got yourselves into! Especially Zelgadis!" Xellos said, suddenly popping up near them.

"Xellos! What the hell are you doing here!" Lina asked, ready to through just about every attack spell at him. Xellos smiled and shrugged.

"I just happened to be in the neighborhood when I heard the fireworks." Xellos said, keeping his distance from Zelgadis, since he knew that a chimera in pain was nothing to be messed with.

"What do you want, Xellos?" Lina asked, from between clenched teeth, trying her best to keep from Dragon Slave-ing the Mazoku too.

"I know where you can find another chimera like Zelgadis." Xellos said, as he opened one eerie lavender eye and looked at Zelgadis, who merely glared back.

"Would he know how to put broken bones back together?" Gourry asked, for once up to speed with what was going on.

"Sore wa himitsu desu!" Xellos said, floating a little bit into the air when he said that.

"Then at least show us where this other chimera is, please, Xellos-san." Amelia said, hoping that they could find the help Zelgadis needed.

"I will do that!" Xellos said, with a mischievous grin, before taking off, with Lina and Amelia Raywing-ing behind him.

Chou sighed as he mended his fishing nets. It wasn't a difficult task, but it was a lonely one. Not that he expected to get any visitors, since he was in such a remote location; then again, he was what normal people considered a 'sideshow freak'. Then his sensitive ears picked up on a faint, unfamiliar sound. Human voices!

"_Two women, three men, by the sounds of it. But what are they doing so far from the path?_" Chou wondered, as he cast a quick levitation spell and took a good look around. To his surprise, he could see five distinct people Raywing-ing their way over to him. One of them looked almost like him! His shock was so great over having seen another chimera of his type that he nearly tumbled from the air, but caught himself before that could happen.

"_But why are they coming here?_" Chou asked himself, as the five got closer and he could see them distinctly.

"Ah! Here he is! And you were doubting me?" one man, this one wearing priest's garb, said to a young, red haired woman.

"Shut up, Xellos! We still don't know whether he can help Zel or not." The woman replied, as she turned her fiery gaze onto Chou.

"Sir, do you think you could help Zelgadis-san?" another woman asked, this one had darker hair than the first.

"Let's get down to the ground first, then I'll see what I can do." Chou said, as he led them to where his cabin stood.

Zelgadis could hardly believe it. There was another unfortunate fellow who shared his curse! Yet, it seemed that instead of having disgust for his current form, the stranger seemed resigned to his fate.

"So, what's your name?" Lina asked, as soon as they had touched down.

"My name is Chou." The strange chimera replied, calmly.

"How long have you been here, Chou-san?" Amelia asked.

"Almost thirty years. I stopped aging when I was transformed into this form." Chou said, noticing when a look of despair crossed Zelgadis' features.

"Wow, that's a long time." Gourry commented.

"It is. But time seems irrelevant up here." Chou said, secretly enjoying the company.

"It must. You have such a spectacular view of the mountains, Chou-san." Amelia commented.

"Arigato. I chose this spot for this reason. Now, let's see what's wrong with your friend." Chou said, as he walked over and took a look at Zelgadis' injured leg.

"Can you put the bone back together, Chou?" Lina asked, watching as Chou gingerly gripped the opposite ends of the break and moved them, getting a pained groan from Zelgadis.

"I should be able to. But there is the problem of making a splint that will hold. You see, the normal human would just need a wooden splint; but chimeras need either iron or steel splints. Forgive me, but I am not good with names, would you mind telling me what your names are?" Chou asked.

"Oh! Yeah! My name's Lina Inverse and these are my traveling companions Gourry Gabriev, Amelia Wil Tesla Seiruun, and Zelgadis Greywords." Lina said, as she introduced each one.

"Whattabout me?" Xellos asked, sounding not unlike a spanked child.

"Oh, and that's Xellos." Lina added, halfheartedly. Chou chuckled when Xellos stuck his tongue out at Lina and muttered about that being the thanks he got for leading them to Chou.

"Right. Gourry, Xellos, could you two go and grab the two iron stakes that are in the back yard? Ladies, I would like for you to remain near Zelgadis, since you two are obviously adept in some kind of magic." Chou said, taking command of the situation.

"Why are we to remain so close, Chou-san?" Amelia asked.

"In case there is internal bleeding. From what I can tell, there could be a severed vein in there." Chou said, as Gourry returned with one of the stakes, and Xellos had the other, grumbling the whole way. Then the business of putting the bone back together began.

"Now, when I count to three, I will pop this bone back into alignment. Ready?" Chou asked, getting a nod from Zelgadis.

"One….." Zelgadis gritted his teeth.

"Two……." Chou said, then suddenly snapped the bone back into place. Zelgadis let out a shriek of pain, then fell back, gasping for breath.

"What happened to three?" Gourry asked, then got whacked on the head by Lina.

"Amelia, Lina, internal bleeding!" Chou said, his voice tense. Immediately they could see that the leg was turning an ugly shade of purple.

"Zelgadis-san!" Amelia yelped, as the blue-skinned chimera promptly passed out.

"Healing!" Lina and Amelia shouted, as they started pumping healing magic into the injured leg, while Chou held the leg in position. After a while, the leg regained its usual blue coloring.

"Whew! You don't realize how close he'd come to losing that leg!" Chou said, as he sat back.

"But what about the splint? Doesn't he need it?" Gourry asked.

"Probably wouldn't hurt, but your ladies did most of the healing on that bone." Chou said, as he nodded his approval to Lina and Amelia.

"Well? What now? It's too late to go and find a town now." Lina said, with some disgust in her voice.

"You could stay in the upper level of the cabin. You see, I built this place when I was still human. I guess I built it with the intent to later get married and have a family of my own. As you can see, that never came about. Still, you're welcome to stay until your friend has recovered completely." Chou offered.

"Sure!" Lina said, without even thinking twice.

"Lina-san! You're shameless!" Amelia scolded. Chou again chuckled.

"Yes, you are from Seiruun, young Amelia." Chou said, then led the way inside. Xellos watched as Chou picked up Zelgadis then motioned for them to follow him inside.

"Well, that ends that. Back to Zelas-sama." Xellos muttered, as he vanished from sight.

When Zelgadis again opened his eyes, he was in a strange room. As he moved to sit up, he winced when a slight twinge went through his leg.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." Chou said, as he entered, keeping his voice low.

"Why?" Zelgadis asked.

"Look." Chou replied, pointing next to Zelgadis. Zelgadis looked and saw that Amelia was sitting next to his bed, her head close to where his had been only seconds ago.

"How long was I out?" Zelgadis asked.

"About a day. She's been very concerned about you." Chou said, as he moved a strand of hair from his face, wincing when it made a slight 'twanging' sound against his stony skin.

"Who did that to you?" Zelgadis asked, when he noticed the pained look on the other chimera's face.

"A jealous suitor of the woman I wanted to marry thirty years ago. He was a powerful sorcerer. I searched for a cure for about ten years, then I gave up and came back here to finish building this cabin. How long have you been cursed?" Chou asked.

"Three years. Is there no cure?" Zelgadis asked, sounding almost afraid.

"I don't know. I never found one, but that doesn't mean you should give up. It may be that you will have better luck than I did and actually find one. Just be sure to tell me when you do." Chou said, gently.

"I will. I'll let you know. Maybe I could find one for you as well." Zelgadis said, feeling a sort of kinship with this lonely fellow.

"I would greatly appreciate it." Chou said, before looking longingly at Amelia.

"Chou?" Zelgadis asked.

"You're very lucky, Zelgadis. Very lucky." Chou said, as he quietly left the room.

"_What did he mean by that?_" Zelgadis wondered, looking down when Amelia started rousing up.

"Zelgadis-san?" Amelia asked.

"I'm all right, Amelia." Zelgadis said, in a sort of gentleness he didn't know he still had.

"Good." Amelia said, with relief in her voice, before drifting back off to sleep.

When Lina and her group started to leave almost two weeks later, Chou gently detained Amelia for a few minutes longer.

"What is it, Chou-san?" Amelia asked, curiously.

"Amelia, when Zelgadis gets his cure, let me know when the wedding is, okay? Because I want these to get there in time for the ceremony." Chou said, as he opened a dusty wooden box and showed her two ornate silver wedding bands.

"They're beautiful!" Amelia breathed.

"I made these when I thought I was going to get married to the woman I loved. I want you and Zelgadis to have them on your wedding day." Chou said.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! I will personally invite you to the wedding! That I swear in the name of Justice!" Amelia said, enthusiastically.

"I will hold you to that promise, Lady Amelia. Take care!" Chou said, with a smile, as a stiff breeze ruffled his wiry silver hair.

"_At least they have a better chance than I did. I hope Zelgadis finds his cure, I really do._" Chou thought, as he watched them disappear into the woods, leaving him alone once more. Unbeknownst to him, in a far away land, a woman wearing green robes lifts her head and sighs. She still has a way to go, but soon all of Rezo's wrongs would be corrected and a certain chimera's dream would come true. At long last.

Author's Note!

Yatta! A prequel fic! This story comes before 'Rain'! Hope this one is as good!

Gemini -


End file.
